End of another semester

“Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars!”

I have been MIA for so long and that is just a life of a mother who is also pursuing her nursing degree. My schedule has been so packed that I just couldn’t write and share my experiences. I know that I have mentioned on several occasions that I will try to remain consistent but that was a lie. Nothing has been consistent in my life for the past four months because I have just been buried in my books trying to get the perfect HESI score.

This semester I really enjoyed my clinical in the home care nursing setting. It was different and it made me realize that I am on the right track. There is just so much opportunities and different fields of nursing to choose from. All my clinical instructors have been wonderful and I must say that my driving skills have become a lot better since the clinical sites were not close to home but that’s besides the point.

Anyways, I have a really exciting announcement. I actually manifested my way through graduating early. In my previous post I had mentioned how I wanted to transition to the accelerated program to finish early. Well, it did not look very hopeful in the beginning but I had my mind set to being a part of class of August 2022. And here I am, I secured my spot in the accelerated BSN. I am telling you guys, just put your mind to it and it will happen for sure.

Now don’t get me wrong when I say I am so done with nursing school. I enjoyed every bit of my journey and loved meeting all the beautiful souls along the way. I am proud of who I have become and how far I have come. But I am ready to begin my next journey and I can already see the finish line!!

More posts to come….so don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE!!

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A day in the life of a PCA

This is my evening shift floating at the Med-Surg COVID floor.

1500: Got shift report and briefly looked up all the patients (10) assigned to me.
1530: Made a quick round around the floor and updated the whiteboard in the patient rooms and introduced myself.
1610: Answered a few call lights and then started taking blood sugar.
1700: Dinner was served to all the rooms. Made sure patients were sitting up comfortably and everything was within reach.
1830: Charted and went for lunch.
1910: Started taking vital signs and charting.
2000: Went around the unit and helped nurses with patient needs. Also in between emptied foley bags and repositioned patients. Answered call lights, too.
2130: Measured blood sugar that’s due before the pm medications.
2230-2330: Did rounds one more time, made sure patient and the rooms were clean and everything addressed. Charted and handed in shift report for the next PCA.

This was my 8-hour shift and all the times noted are not exact but everything happened within those hours. I cannot add too much details as it can be a HIPAA violation. But I tried giving out an overall summary of my day. This was the busiest I have been and I think I prefer my ICU/CCU floor. I was so exhausted when I got back home. Most of the time I was up and about on my feet and I had to wear full PPE when entering the patient’s room so that was time-consuming and I was really hot in the gown.

And……. I decided to quit after this shift because after I started my semester and the syllabus was handed out, I realized that I needed my weekends to focus on school. My initial plan was to continue working and building my skills but it didn’t work out that way, unfortunately.

So, I am planning on trying to get into the accelerated program for my final semester just so I can finish in the summer of 2022 instead of fall 2022. I have to meet certain criteria like keeping my GPA above 3.5 and passing all my HESI exams with a score above 900. That means I really need to study my butt off and pass all the classes. So wish me luck! I will definitely keep you all updated 😀

I tested positive for COVID-19!

I was able to avoid the virus for the past two years but wasn’t able to dodge it in 2022. I just got off my PCA orientation last Friday and I had to call out on Monday and get tested because I have been feeling all the symptoms. Tuesday morning I found out I was positive for COVID and have to quarantine for 10 days.

I would describe this sickness as flu 2.0. The symptoms felt just like the flu but a little harsher. The worst was the sore throat and the cough. They definitely got a lot worse at night. It was difficult to swallow food or water and the fever would come and go. I also had the body aches, nasal congestion, and chills.

The first 2-3 days were really rough but after that, I started feeling a little better. The ginger shots from Trader Joe’s were my best friend. They helped relieve the intensity of my sore throat and my throat ache. I took Tylenol as needed and continued taking my multivitamin supplement every day. I also tried to remain hydrated because my lips and throat would get dry really quick. And most importantly, I tried to sleep whenever I felt extremely tired.

The Omicron variant is highly contagious and it seems as though a lot of people have been catching it. I am hoping for all of it to get better soon because being sick is not fun. Let’s all try to stay safe by practicing hand hygeiene often, avoiding crowded areas, wearing masks, and getting vaccinated.

Stay Healthy and Stay Safe!